To Hell and Out
by MiscellaneousAilurophileOfFire
Summary: To craft an identity in a world of dead- Spiritual - people was not something one could simply do. Hard work was required, and so was a little bit of murder and arson. Behind this whole facade, what was actually happening? Why does he keep having flashbacks in a world he doesn't remember? Contains Male!OC, murder, sabotage, arson, and a bit of gore in later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

_A/n: Hello! This is my first (well not really) Bleach OC Story. I saw that there weren't many Male!OC Bleach fanfiction stories so I came out with one. Hopefully, it comes out as what I want it to._

_Ratings: T, for a bit of blood, gore, and general knife wounds coming up in later chapters. Might contain a tiny dashing of swearing too. Ratings might go up in further chapters._

_Summary: To craft an identity in a world of dead people was not something one could simply do, hardwork was required, and so was a little bit of murder and arson too. Male!OC _

* * *

Rain.

Cold and wet and freezing drops pelted his skin, furious stings on his body. It was a heavy lash of rain or hail, cold shivers running down his spine. He tried to curl up to conserve heat, a shocking _electrifying _spark shot through his limbs, a terrible, burning feeling of embers scorching. He could feel his mouth gaping wide, his body tingling with the horrifying experience, but no sound came out.

He felt like a hollow shell, an empty husk harboring nothing, when the cold fire eventually died down. Slowly and half-afraid, he stretched out his left arm, stretching and flexing his fingers experimentally. He heard the stiff crack of his fingers, and felt them come to live. The pain had dulled to a throb, it didn't hurt as much now.

A groan bubbled in his throat and rose to his lips, and he cracked his eyes open in surprise. He could hear his vocal chords thrumming when he tried to speak, and a hash of gibberish came out. A second later, his mind translated it into a strange sounding yet familiar language.

"_I see that I am dead." _His voice was barely audible, rising just above a whisper. Again, surprise rang through his mind. He hadn't expected himself to be male, he had expected to be- He couldn't remember. What gender had he been before? What was his name?_  
_

A pang of longing shook his body, trembling slightly. Why couldn't he remember anything? A sudden rush of memories, faces, emotions, rushed into his head, and he screamed, when it rushed into his head. The pain in his head had increased tenfold, and he wasn't aware of why it had happened.

All he recognised were a flurry of names, faces pouring into his mind like cement into an empty hole in the ground, filling it up with a thick, murky substance.

-_Ichigo, male, orange-haired, strange, important, help, therapy, go, future_

_-Kisuke, male, dirty blonde hair, queer, side, important, valuable, chess piece_

_-Aizen, male, brown hair, manipulative, foe, important, help, go_

_-Rukia, female, dark purple hair, sweet- kind, help, therapy, nii-san, trench_

-_Yoru ..._

It flooded him, giving him something we call sensory overload.

He couldn't help it, the dark abyss of the unknowing was embracing him, it was warm, comforting, mysterious, and safe. His body thudded onto the floor, its sound resonating.

* * *

When he woke up, he didn't remember seeing the interior of a small, wooden hut before. Feeling slightly in a daze, he sat up and immediately collapsed back into his _fuuton, _feeling his muscles ache and his mind tired.

_Oh yeah, _he thought blandly as previous images of his previous circumstances flashed through his head, _sensory overload._

His head still throbbed, and a dull ache shot through his leg when he lifted it. A grimace found itself on his face as he continued to stretch his limbs. A few more winces and a soft 'Ow.' later, his stiff legs allowed him to move in an odd, penguin-like way, anything else and he would collapse into a heap onto the ground.

Holding onto a legless stool for support, he half-crawled, half-walked outside, his hands flying to his eyes when intense midday light met his unused eyes. He gave a lethargic groan, and blinked blearily. He got used to the light soon enough, and stared in wonder at the crowded street. People were working, and a few others were fighting. Children ran along the street, their dirty hands and feet flailing about as they giggled and fooled around.

He limped towards an old man, inquiring with his slightly-cracked voice, "Where am I?"

The old man raised an eyebrow, and his frown dissolved into a more welcoming smile. "I see you're new, welcome to district 57, South Rukongai, otherwise known as Akajuhi."

He nodded in thanks, and proceeded to go, and realised that he was completely at a loss for what to do. Observing the children play, and looking at his child-like body, he decided to ask for some assistance there. The children surrounded him, curiously asking him about his name. This must have triggered something in his new body, or at least he thought was his new body due to foggy memories of a past life, as he felt a migraine coming on.

The children hadn't seemed aware of whatever was happening in my mind, and looked on curiously as he staggered and leaned against the wall, a pale hand pressing onto his head. A bead of sweat rolled down, he felt two words flicker through his mind. They looked foreign, but when he narrowed his eyes slightly, he saw the words transform into something that he could read.

"My name is Kazu." He spoke suddenly, the four words was so foreign, yet had a sense of familiarity buried deep within them. He knew the other word, but wasn't going to say it out loud for their sake.

"Kazu, you must be new here." The biggest child, a teenager, stood up and stared down at him. Kazu stared back up, knowing that although he wasn't as old as the teenager, but this body was tall, and would grow to be even taller than the teenager's in a matter of time.

The teenager smirked, and extended his hand to Kazu's, "My name is Aogi, and if you want to survive here, you better listen to me and the rest."

The hidden threat and the cocky tone were evident to Kazu, and he knew what Aogi full implied behind those words. Kazu didn't react, instead continued to stare at Aogi.

Aogi retracted his hand once he knew that Kazu wasn't going to shake it, and the smirk turned into an irritated expression. He stalked off, waving a dismissive hand at the whole group of children who crowded around. Slowly, the crowd dispersed, and Kazu was left alone again.

He trudged back into his little hut, wondering about what he was going to do. _I've got these memories of this place, and since these memories are of this place, it only makes sense that I would be able to get something out of them. _He thought, and shifted his position, leaning against the wall. He closed his eyes, and looked for the memories.

Kazu felt a brief electric shock like a defibrillator shoot through his body, before his surroundings eventually dissolved into a grassy plain, filled with an assortment of things scattered haphazardly on the grass.

He picked up a stuffed dog toy, turning it around curiously. The surroundings changed into a deserted street quickly, and Kazu felt trapped, restricted by something.

Wildly looking around, he saw test tubes coming out of his body, his entrails hung up like a dead pig for roast. He tried giving a shriek, but nothing came out. Weird, foreign greenish liquid getting pumped into his body.

A grey wire was stuck onto his forehead, and he felt faintly nauseous as he saw liquids being pumped in and out of his body. He glanced around the room again, and saw a faint outline of a person smiling sadly at him with an object in his hand, before his vision darkened, and he returned to the grassy plain.

Kazu sat down, contemplating all that he saw. Swearing quietly to himself, he picked up another object, with faintly shaking hands. The scenery around him changed into something like he saw this morning, at Akajuhi.

The streets looked familiar, and a red-head was playing in the water. Four other people were with him was all Kazu could make out before the scene rapidly flickered into one where he could make out people stealing and plundering.

Feeling mildly disturbed, he decided to stop looking through when another wave of nausea hit him in his gut, forcing him to go back. Kazu staggered, and fell down.

What he had seen was not just disturbing, it was _murder, and theft. _

So that was pardoned in this world, he mused quietly to himself. He stood up again, his mind formulating plans for his survival here.

A wide grin spread onto his face at the thought of food, and he could feel his stomach growl. This was Rukongai, and the only thing you needed to survive was water. If the river's water was unsafe to drink, the only thing he could do to get water was to steal.

Flipping back onto the ground, Kazu grabbed a long wooden pole sitting quietly inside his room, and swung it around with great relish. He could easily hit a few people in a matter of seconds, he had the guts to do so. How all of these came naturally to him, he didn't know, but it felt right.

_Look out for me, Akajuhi._ He thought with satisfaction while brandishing the stick, walking out into a busy street.

The vendors there were all adults, and the things they sold all varied from one another. _Kan. _The word rung through his head as he found a woman shaking her bag of what seemed like coins with holes in them.

Burrowing through his pockets for Kan, he found none, and sighed. It looked like he actually had to go rob some people. Choosing to observe for a moment, he saw a quick flash in the corner of his vision, and found a child darting through the crowds and snatching a bottle of water. The child got away, and the adult didn't even notice.

Bemused by the child's action, Kazu rose to his feet, and quietly slipped into the crowd. Nobody was looking at him, and with a deft twist of his wrist, he snatched a jug of water and continued to walk quietly.

Nothing should have noticed him, Kazu noted, but felt an angry tap on the back of his shoulders. He gulped, feeling nervous, and turned.

The vendor was giving him an ugly smirk, his fist at his side. Kazu bolted, reaching for his stick and pushing his way through the crowd- the vendor didn't give up just yet, he snarled and followed.

Feeling his heart thud dangerously, Kazu found a discarded jug on the street and picked it up as he ran into the back alleys of the district, beginning to pant. He turned his head around, and saw the glare of the vendor stare right through, and tried to pick up speed.

He looked at the river for a moment, and an idea came. He scooped the muddy water into the dirty porcelain jug, and took the one with clean water, hiding it inside his shirt as he continued to sprint away.

"That dirty brat, must have been too scared to take the water away, didn't he?" He heard a few chuckles from the vendor from behind him, and decided it was safe.

He tipped the jug, the cool water felt refreshing on his parched throat.

"I must be addicted to it or something." He said glumly, when he finished the jug in a matter of seconds.

Still feeling rather empty and beaten up, he slunk back into his hut, and lay down quietly, trying to sleep. Despite waking up several times due to discomfort, he felt like he got sufficient sleep in the many days he had felt.

* * *

Kazu's eyes blinked open as he felt the shadow of someone block the morning sun, groaning as he stretched tiredly and stared back at the person who had woken him. It had been a full two weeks gone before he had seen them again, and that was irritating him when they

His lip curled into a smirk, and saw Aogi's lackeys shift nervously. They were frightened of him because of his outright defiance to their boss, and Kazu knew it.

"Well? Why are you here?" Kazu spoke, breaking an uneasy silence. His voice was still slightly cracked, he noted with a slight frown, he had to work on that.

"B-boss wants you to meet him." One of the lackeys squeaked out, Kazu snapped his head over to stare at him. Somehow, he knew that the lackeys thought that he was trying to kill them with his stare. This only made him even more amused.

Kazu gave one more lazy stretch, and picked up his stick, following the lackeys soon after. The morning sun hadn't rose fully yet, and the district was painted a soft yellow. _Waking me up now, that idiot. _Kazu grumbled inwardly, trying not to yawn and still feeling rather sleepy.

They arrived at a medium-sized building, receiving a few surly looks from the older males that were in there. There were barely any females, and those that were there had hardened expressions. Kazu ignored all of the looks, although not sure if the two younger boys had pissed their pants off or not.

Aogi's smile grew when he saw the three of them come in, if his smile could even be called a smile. The nasty beam spoke volumes to Kazu, making him cast a wary glance to the leader of this pack of boys.

Kazu shifted slightly into a new position, leaning against the wall. His hand loosely gripped his stick, nonetheless gripping it still. Aogi swept his glance over each one of them in the building, his nasty smile still plastered sickeningly on his face.

"We have a new member joining our ranks today, Kazu, we hope that you'll cooperate and contribute to this group." Aogi spoke, and instantly at least thirty faces turned to stare at him. The bite and drawl at the last sentence was evident to him, and Aogi knew that he understood the tone.

Aogi's glance swept over all of them, and lingered slightly at the thick branch Kazu was holding. The smile dropped, and was replaced by a sharp look. Kazu stared back, refusing to back down- it was a sign of weakness, and he knew he was stronger than what Aogi made him out to be.

Kazu took a moment to understand the dynamics of this group of boys, his mind whirling as he stared at all of them. The younger boys, the weaker, nervous and timid ones, stood or sat in a cluster, intimidated by some of the older males around there. The ones in the middle, not so weak and not so powerful were sitting in an inner circle, while the older ones prowled around and leered at the younger boys.

The females just looked on with blank faces, yet Kazu knew that they were strong, they had to be, in order for them to be in this group.

For now, he was contented with being classified as loner by the other boys. He could see it in their faces, they were assessing him.

Attention was diverted back to Aogi when he continued, "We are going to raid the warehouse owned by the bastards called Akafune, and we want it to be successful," He paused, and the look on his face barely concealed the warning for Kazu and the rest of the members in the building if they did not do well, "Surume and Chikarashi, you're on guard duty today."

A weedy looking runt stood up, his legs trembling slightly, a barking laugh rang out as an older male stood up too. It was understood that the older boy, Chikarashi, was going to bully the younger one, Surume. For a moment, Kazu's mind gears started working again at the pure injustice of this, but he pushed it out with a grim feeling. Justice was absent here, justice was absent everywhere. It would be detrimental to him if he befriended that weedy boy.

Aogi's lip curled menacingly, "Head out, and never disgrace the name of Akakage."

* * *

_A/n: I've never actually written this much before! ^^ The updates will range anywhere from 2k-3k words, updates might take a week or half. Have a nice day!_


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N: Hi again! I'm so sorry that I took so long to update this, I've got so much going on right now and my free time has just started. Right now. Like literally, today. I've finished my major, major, exams, which would determine which school I would get into for the next 4-6 years of my life. Eh, I was getting all flustered and nervous for my results when my Literature teacher came in and said "Oh stop worrying, the results come in like, two months. Go play some computer games and what not that young people do nowadays." Thanks Lit Teacher, you really boosted my morale. XDDD _

_So anyways, I finally got this out! Its been bugging me for some time now, and I needed to get it out of my system. This chapter may be a hundred words shorter- I dunno, around there I guess. _

_Have fun reading anyway! If you find anything wrong, don't be afraid to tell me!_

* * *

The night was dark, an inky blackness masking everything he saw. The moon did little to help, its weak glow just made everything look ethereal, ghostly, and haunted. It was these times that Kazu hated going out, the lack of light and how everything looked disturbed him. It reminded him of something, but he couldn't quite put his finger on what was it.

He could feel a headache coming when he was chosen for the third wave of ambushing the Akafune, the people around him looked weak and feeble. He knew that Aogi was up to something, he could feel it inside of him, like an ominous scraping at the pit of his stomach.

The attack would commence soon enough, but until then, he had a couple of hours to himself.

Swinging his stick around absently, he walked back to his tiny hut, slipping out of his attire and putting a thin vest on. That would do, Kazu hated sleeping in long clothes. It trapped him, and in circumstances like this, he couldn't help feeling a little paranoid that someone would steal into his house and kill him in his sleep.

Feeling his eyelids droop slightly, and his breathing even out, he relaxed slightly, and ran through what he had to do later. It bored him, but it was crucial for him to go through, to make sure that there was no mistakes, so that he could earn a place in Akakage.

He grit his teeth, as all feelings of peacefulness and tranquility dissipated when he heard a few impatient knocks at his door. Those idiots just had to come for him now, didn't they? Sighing slowly, he ignored them and continued looking over the plan that Aogi had told him about. There were a few errors and a few misjudgements that would need looking over.

A loud, resonating 'Thump!' was heard, and Kazu shut his eyes in annoyance. They just had to bust his door down, especially after he had spent so much effort in gettin rid of all the woodlice and the termites, making his eye twitch slightly. Standing up suddenly, and stalking towards his door, he estimated about three people in total, based on the frequency and number of footsteps towards him.

This would be an easy job, if he got serious. A few quick flicks of his stick, and the three boys that were sent to get him were all lying face-down on his floor, unconscious with a sprinkling of bruises on their bodies.

Now, to get to the warehouse before Aogi sends some more of his weaker goons to get him.

Kazu slipped into his slippers, and walked slowly towards a shady building located south of the district, an eye shut while surveying his surroundings. Kazu had a faint inkling of where the Akafune people would be, but it wouldn't hurt if he noticed some unwanted visitor and disposed of them before they actually affected his mission.

Dwelling back on what Aogi had told him, he knew that the third surge of people mostly incapacitated or killed the people hindering the main attackers and ambushes, they also served as back-up, just in case the second attack couldn't hold back against the retaliation from the victims of this ambush.

And if Aogi was grouping him with some of the younger ones, this meant that Aogi expected the retaliation to be fierce- Fierce enough that the second surge, a group consisting of okay-looking boys and a few older ones, couldn't hold back. Perhaps Aogi was expecting the young boys to die or forcibly leave the gang, Kazu wasn't entirely sure, but if he were to face such a great opponent, he had to live.

* * *

...⊂((・▽・))⊃...

* * *

Kazu was approaching the building that Akafune operated in, a slight displeased expression on his face. He had seen a few dodgy figures leering at him, and a significant amount of suspicious glances at him when he neared the building.

He reached the foliage near the building, and saw quite a number of familiar faces, surprisingly enough, there were also a lot of other people he hadn't met before that mingled together with those people he felt familiar.

Akakage now felt a lot bigger, a lot more threatening than usual to him, and Kazu didn't like that feeling a lot. It was uncomfortable, and it irked him.

A barking call interrupted him from his thoughts, and he diverted his attention to a burly guy who stood in the middle of the relatively thick crowd, yelling over the heads of all of them.

"Maggots! Listen to me you fucking maggots! We'll be invading the building, so you better pay attention!" The burly guy shouted so loudly that it definitely attracted attention, which made Kazu question Aogi's decision to make that guy the leader of this wave.

The guy started recapping on the plan, Kazu slowly slipped out of the conversation, feeling slightly bored while leaning on his stick. It would take a long time for the baboon to finish with his vulgarity-ridden speech, which gave him enough time to properly think this all out.

If the third surge was going to be ambushed, where would his weak group and him be? Now that he thought of it, his group was located at the west exit of the building, which was suspiciously close to where he had seen those shadowy figures- Did that mean the Aogi meant for them to attack his group?

Kazu found himself grinding his teeth again, and snapped when someone patter his shoulder blade. The person jumped, startled by his sudden outburst, and Kazu calmed down instantly.

These emotions were only temporary, they shouldn't affect his work and his job, much less affecting the people around him. He stared back at the person who jumped, and found himself looking at the same weedy looking boy from the latest meeting at Akakage's warehouse- Surume, if he remembered.

Surume was sporting quite a few bruises, and multiple cuts littered his body. He also had this nervous aura around him, that however ashamedly Kazu was, made Kazu want to bully him and take advantage of. Surume had better stopped looking so damn weak or nervous, because Kazu was sure that some goon or thug would come over to beat him up any second.

Around him, several more wimpy-looking boys were staring at him, the expression of terror evident on their faces. It made him go wild, knowing that his group was such a weak group, a for a brief moment, wondered whether Aogi was doing it just to annoy him. He shook his head, his black, spiky hair flying every where, accidentally hitting Surume and another boy in their faces, making them cough slightly.

A sudden burst of sound and a torch was waved around, the flames illuminating the near pitch-black surroundings of the place, signalling one thing- The attack, started.

Feeling a burst of energy and adrenaline fuel his muscles momentarily, he pulled his group and ran towards the west exit, ignoring the few startled whimpers from the boys towed behind him.

This exhilaration when he knocked out some of the surviving guards at the west exit did not feel right, but belonged there, as if it was a part of him. He could hear muted awe coming from the scrawny boys behind him, filled with wonder at him for beating up a feel measly guards.

The thrill and the adrenaline coming from this beating of the enemy should not have felt so appropriate, yet it felt so familiar, Kazu didn't actually know if it was sick pleasure derived, or just plain instinct. Whatever it was- regardless of how morally wrong or right it was, _it felt good._

All the troubles and worrying over Aogi's motives were cast to the back of his mind, with only a tiny fraction of himself yelling at the whole to stop sinking into the animalistic aggression and just listen to that fraction. Naturally, his body ignored that tiny fraction.

...

He stopped for a moment, when he realized that there were no more people to hit, to maim, or to mortally wound. He paused for breath, his hands on his knees, and a large gust of air entered his lungs. His eyes widened by a tiny fraction, when he realized what he had done, when he whirled around and saw everything drenched in sticky, red blood.

It was as if in a vision, for the surroundings he saw wasn't what he saw a few minutes ago. This was much cleaner- whiter, blander, and there was definitely no one around. The scene looked clean- too clean, and the depression of seeing nothing but white was working itself into him. His body moved by itself, as if it remembered about the event here, when Kazu shuddered, slightly.

Despite being unwilling, he felt a maniacal grin form onto his face, and his body mechanically turned itself to a small, black oval thing at the top of the white room, and spoke a few words, that haunted Kazu's thoughts for quite some time: "Do you see it Nao? This is all your fault, Nao, you made me like this, and you'll _regret it."_

_..._

Just like how the surroundings changed into his right now, it flitted back slowly, the opposing scenes dancing back and forth until his eyes focused. The strange electricity that spread into his body as the scenes changed wore off, and he stood at the west exit of Akafune, staring glassy-eyed at a face above him.

His mind clicked- Surume. The boy gave a weak laugh when Kazu sat up quietly, softly speaking to him. "At least you didn't punch my face off like the first time."

Kazu turned his piercing gaze onto the boy and the boy turned away, like all the others did when they saw his hard, stone-cold eyes. Surume had dared however, to give him an uneasy look. Kazu gave a quick look around, scanning for a quickened footstep or a nervous action that would give away Akafune's cover.

It did not happen. For a solid 5 minutes, Kazu stood there, his form rigid as he stared around him. Surume's eyes flitted back and forth, sensing Kazu's unease at the situation.

Eventually, the panicked state of Kazu's lungs had mellowed into a gentler, smoother one, something which took a long time. And yet, nothing happened. Deciding that staying stationary wasn't going to help, he cautiously moved forward, his footsteps barely , making any noise despite Kazu's muscular frame. Surume followed, his footsteps a quick patter against the cracked stone, reminding Kazu of a tiny, but sharp-eyed mouse.

Footsteps halted to a standstill, and his eyes flickered over towards the wine barrels, where his eyes barely registered a tiny movement. After a few seconds, the action clicked. He dropped to his knees, and crouched, tucking his head into the protective concave of his limbs. Surume did the same, and was only a second too late.

Large columns of flame burst upwards, the barrels exploding and adding fuel into the fire. Thick billows of smoke from the fire swirled and suffocated them, making his vision worsen. Kazu crawled towards Surume on his hands, not trusting the conditions enough to stand up. He cursed inwardly, when he heard Surume whimper and mutter incorrigibly, a livid red burn mark on Surume's forearm.

Hardening his expression, Kazu took one look at the red, charred flesh and grabbed Surume. Dragging him along with one hand and pulling himself out with another, the seemingly-short distance from him to the door outside seemed like a never-ending road. He coughed violently when the harsh smoke seeped into his lungs, and instinctively heard Surume hack his lungs out too.

Gritting his teeth together, he pushed his body, and barely managed to get out of the room before the wooden ceiling caught fire and crashed down in a swirl of noxious fumes and embers. Taking in the untainted oxygen with a few deep breaths, he turned and found that several new Akafune sneering at him. Feeling a slight twinge of annoyance, he stood up and picked up the nearest glass shard, bared his teeth in an animalistic snarl, and lunged forward.

* * *

...⊂((・▽・))⊃...

* * *

"Hey." The words came out strangled and soft from his throat, reminding Kazu of the silent beating wings of a bird. Surume gave a hoarse whimper, his eyes flickering open and shutting again, wincing slightly when his charred arm moved to the side. "You alright?" It didn't sound like a question, it was a statement.

Kazu propped Surume up against a broken chair, his gaze sweeping over the battered body of Surume. "Pre-pretty much." Surume replied, gritting his teeth as he sat up, trying hard not to let the shiny drops of salty water fall from his eyes, scrunching his face up. He looked at Kazu, and gave a silent gasp, looking mortified.

"You-you're... Oh god, what did you do?" Kazu gave a weak laugh at Surume's question. Kazu could feel the sticky, coagulated blood staining his hands and his once blue-grey attire, some of that his, and some of that from the Akafune. The steady drip of blood and bodily fluids slid down from his forearm to his hands, splattering onto the cement floor.

He had survived that arson attack, and pulled himself through with his sheer willpower- His body felt weak, tired and languid, after all that fighting. It had tire him, constantly beating opponents that used dirty tricks by lunging at him from the shadows, or ganging up on him.

But he had survived.

"I- We survived, didn't we? Let's go, Surume." Kazu's weary grin shifted into one of a lethargic smirk, and stood up again, ignoring the harsh sting of his wounds, pulling Surume up with his stronger left hand. Surume nodded weakly, trailing after him as they exited the blown up building.

The ashes of the room and the acrid smoke could still be smelt and felt by Kazu as they went back to their warehouse. It annoyed Kazu, he didn't like the prospect of either wearing clothes that smelt of burnt wood, or scrubbing them clean until his hands ached and the skin peeled off from overexertion.

The welcome inside the warehouse wasn't that warm either- Not that he expected anything more from a group of uneducated thugs. The stares he received held admiration, even from some of the older members. Aogi took one look at both of them; Bleeding, burnt and hurt, and smirked. "Looks like we've got ourselves tough newbies in this clan huh." His voice was oily as ever, but even Kazu could detect a faint hint of pride.

"We welcome Kazu and Surume, who survived their first attack!" The cheers erupted from around them, and he felt pride seep into his heart, before Aogi spoke again, "Our next meeting would be held exactly at the same time, same place, 6 days from now. And next time, I expect you lot to be better!"

Kazu got up to leave, as the members of Akakage slowly streamed out, when a firm hand clasped onto his shoulder, startling him slightly.

"Ka-zu~ Wait a minute would you? I've got something to tell y-"


End file.
